Gamecocks move up at NCAA tournament

Ainhoa Olarra was one of only two golfers to break par in the second round of the NCAA championship. The USC golfer is now tied for third place. (File photo from Twitter)

South Carolina has moved into the sixth spot after two rounds of the NCAA Women’s Championship. The top eight teams advance to the match play finals.

The Gamecocks were lead by Ainhoa Olarra, the USC junior from Spain, shot one of only two rounds under par on Sunday. Olarra finished at 2-under par 70 to tie tournament leader Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest for the low round of the day.

“Ainhoa’s round was phenomenal, she played amazing,” said Gamecock coach Kalen Anderson.

Olarra is now tied for third individually and helped pull the USC team within the top-8 as the field gets ready for the final round of stroke play on Monday.

“There will be a shoot-out for the top eight, but we are in good position. We need to keep doing what we are doing. Stick to our game plan and play very smart golf,” said the USC coach.

Furman moves up four spots

The ninth ranked Furman Lady Paladins made a move up in the second round. Furman moved up four spots into a tie for 14th place. The Lady Paladins are six shots behind Miami for the eighth spot and a place in the match play finals.

Haylee Harford and freshman Natalie Srinivasan had the two best rounds for Furman. Each golfer shot a 3-over par 75. Harford is tied for 13th in the championship while Srinivasan made up 12 strokes from her first round.

Furman’s other freshman, Carly Burkhardt also made a 13 shot improvement from round one to count as one of the four Furman scores in round two.

Clemson tied for 19th

Alice Hewson, Sydney Legacy and Marisa Messana all shot six-over par 78’s as the Clemson Tigers slipped two spots in the standings. Clemson is now tied for 19th place in their first NCAA tournament as a team.

Ana Paula Valdes is the top individual for the Tigers. The freshman is tied for 57th place with one round to play.

Clemson would have to make up 16 shots in the final round to catch the 8th place team.

The stroke play portion of the event was shortened to just 54 holes after Saturday’s round was washed away.

The golfers this week have faced temperatures with wind chills in the upper 30s. The course has come under fire for its set up, especially considering the bad weather.

After the first 36 holes no golfer is under par and only one, tournament leader Kupcho is at even par. Second ranked Alabama, fifth ranked FSU and eighth ranked Duke are all well back int he pack.

The stroke play portion of the event concludes on Monday at Rich Harvest Farms in Northern Illinois. The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the mid 70s and only a slight chance of rain.